Alexander Zverev and Ashleigh Barty won the Cincinnati crown in tune-up to US Open
Women’s world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty and men’s Olympic champion Alexander Zverev warmed up before the US Open, winning the women’s and men’s titles at the Western and Southern Open, respectively.
Both are in fine form heading into the U.S. Open, which begins a week from Monday in New York.
The top-ranked Barty won her fifth title of the season, taking eight of the last nine games from wild card Jil Teichmann for a 6-3, 6-1 victory in the Western & Southern Open final on Sunday.
Zverev, too, had a relatively easy time in the Cincinnati final, winning the first four games en route to a 6-2, 6-3 victory over seventh-ranked Andrey Rublev.
The match lasted 58 minutes, a welcome result for Zverev after a grueling three-set semifinal win over Stefanos Tsitsipas on Saturday.
“It’s been an awesome week,” said Zverev, who lost to Dominic Thiem in last year’s U.S. Open final. “This is an incredible feeling going into New York.
“The U.S. Open is a week everybody is looking forward to. Novak (Djokovic) will be back, and he’ll be the favorite. The other guys are in great shape. I’m looking forward to the week. Let’s see how it goes. I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me. I have to find my rhythm.”
“I felt like, each match, I got better and better in most parts of my game. I was just excited to get some matches under my belt in some tough conditions, and I think it put us in good stead going to New York,” said Barty.
